Wilderness.org - Conservation Fundinghttp://wilderness.org/tags/%C2%A0conservation-funding
en2013 Budget shows some green for conservationhttp://wilderness.org/update/2013-budget-shows-some-green-conservation
<div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Feb 12, 2012</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-headline field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">New 2013 Budget</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>&nbsp;</p>
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<p>President Obama released his 2013 budget request to Congress on Feb. 13, and it contains strong funding for conservation and renewable energy programs. In a tough budget climate like the one that we&rsquo;re currently in, finding bright spots in the federal budget can be difficult.</p>
<p>The commitment to conservation and renewable energy in the 2013 budget shows that the Obama administration realizes the strong benefits of conservation and clean energy to the American economy.&nbsp; See what experts at The Wilderness Society have to say about the President&rsquo;s budget request:</p>
<p><a href="/node/978"><em>Alan Rowsome, Director of Conservation Funding</em></a><br />The Land and Water Conservation Fund was allocated $450 million &ndash; a $130 million increase over the final enacted 2012 budget.&nbsp; This popular program conserves and preserves wild lands across America, and this year&rsquo;s funding would go towards projects on the Snake River in Idaho, the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument in Oregon, and many other wild places all over the country.</p>
<p>This is a very strong commitment to&nbsp; LWCF &ndash; it is significantly more than the program received in 2012, so it is clear that the administration recognizes the value that lands protected with LWCF funds have.&nbsp; Other areas, like the National Wildlife Refuge System also fared pretty well &ndash; with $495 million for maintenance and upkeep throughout the system, which is vital for migrating birds and hundreds of species of wildlife that call National Wildlife Refuges home.</p>
<p><a href="/node/1032"><em>Ben Friedman, National Landscape Conservation System Legislative Assistant</em></a><br />It was a good year for the National Landscape Conservation System, part of the Bureau of Land Management. Many of the programs under the NLCS umbrella are at near-highest or highest levels of funding. National Monuments and National Conservation Areas saw a $3.3 million increase to $35.1 million and Wilderness Management, Wild and Scenic Rivers, and National and Historic Trails all saw increases as well.</p>
<p>Sage grouse conservation, an increasingly important species facing fragmented and dwindling habitat also saw efforts to protect habitat receive a $15 million boost over 2012 levels.</p>
<p><a href="/node/968"><em>Anne Merwin, Director of Policy and Government Affairs, TWS National Forest Action Center</em></a><br />There is mixed report on the National Forest funding front.&nbsp; The Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program remains fully funded at $40 million, which is great news for forest restoration partners across the country.&nbsp; This investment would continue to support twenty collaborative forest restoration projects that are currently under way.&nbsp; On the downside, the Recreation Heritage &amp; Wilderness program, which is responsible for providing recreational opportunities, volunteer coordination, and wilderness management, would be cut 5% under the President&rsquo;s budget.&nbsp; This is especially unfortunate because the Forest Service&rsquo;s capacity to provide for recreation and to help get volunteers out repairing our trails is already stretched to the breaking point, which has already lead to&nbsp; a trails maintenance backlog of nearly $300 million.</p>
<p>The Legacy Roads and Trails program, which protects drinking water and fisheries by repairing important forest service roads and removing others that are past their prime was folded into a separate program called the &ldquo;Integrated Resources Restoration (IRR),&rdquo; which is currently being piloted in three western regions. Although TWS supports the pilot, we do not recommend rolling the $45 million Legacy Roads &amp; Trails program into a nationwide IRR until we have enough time for the pilots to show us what works.</p>
<p><a href="/node/1036"><em>Chase Huntley, Director Renewable Energy Campaign</em></a><br />The President&rsquo;s budget redoubled a commitment to &ldquo;Smart from the Start&rdquo; renewable energy development &ndash; the kind that puts high quality wind and solar projects in the right places, avoiding unacceptable impacts to sensitive birds, fish, and wildlife.&nbsp; Interior Department agencies play a critical role in siting and reviewing projects. The 21% increase in funding for permitting and planning at the Department boosts the renewables program to $86 million &ndash;consistent funding for these critical programs even in these lean budget times is needed to build smart today and to compete in the global market of tomorrow. .</p>
<p>However, the smartest energy is the kind you do not need, and here the budget shines with an 80% increase in Department of Energy programs that focus on energy efficiency.&nbsp; These programs help businesses stay more competitive and spend less on energy while helping families lower their energy bills and keep more money in their pockets.</p>
<p><a href="/node/966">Paul Sanford, Recreation Director</a><br />Overall funding for the National Park Service would be essentially flat under the President&#39;s budget when compared to 2012. However, within the budget there are noteworthy reductions to funding for Operations, which supports recreation and visitor services within the parks. On the plus side, there is a slight increase in funding for the Challenge Cost Share program, which provides matching funds to qualified partners for projects that preserve and improve NPS natural, cultural, and recreational resources. The President&#39;s budget also includes flat funding of $10M for the Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program (RTCA), which provides technical support to states, local communities and NGOs in developing recreational opportunities outside park boundaries, and is seen as an important program for implementation of the America&#39;s Great Outdoors initiative.</p>
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<p>Overall, the President&rsquo;s 2013 budget request is one that shows this administration understands that we&nbsp; needcontinued investments into clean energy and wild places in America.&nbsp; Millions of people depend on healthy wild places for their jobs and livelihoods, and outdoor recreation opportunities like hiking and camping adds $730 billion to the US economy every year.&nbsp; The President&rsquo;s budget proposal now goes to Congress, where we will work with the House and Senate to continue to show their support for clean energy and wild places that all Americans want and need.</p>
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</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-content-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://wilderness.org/sites/default/files/styles/blog_full/public/bugseyeviewofheather-andreaimler.jpg?itok=U-Age0P1" width="500" height="263" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-video field-type-file field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"></div></div><div class="field field-name-media-description field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p>Bugs eye view of heather</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-credit field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p>Andrea Imler</p>
</div></div></div>Sun, 12 Feb 2012 05:00:00 +0000Foster Burgess1510 at http://wilderness.orghttp://wilderness.org/update/2013-budget-shows-some-green-conservation#commentsThe Trillion Dollar American Job Enginehttp://wilderness.org/update/trillion-dollar-american-job-engine
<div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Oct 21, 2011</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-headline field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">America&#039;s wild places are a wonder to behold, from the stark, jagged peaks of the Grand Tetons in Wyoming to the flame-colored leaves across the rolling slopes of Shenandoah National Park.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>What they aren&#39;t known for is the tremendous economic boost that they give to the American economy each and every year -- more than $1 trillion dollars (yes, with a T). From jobs restoring forests to the still-growing outdoor recreation industry, there are billions of dollars worth of jobs and economic activity in the communities and villages near America&#39;s public lands -- and Congress should be supporting these jobs, not undermining them.</p>
<p>In our new report,<a href="/node/1569">&nbsp;Rural Jobs and America&#39;s Public Lands: Putting Rural America Back to Work</a>, we highlight some of the many monetary and employment benefits that are provided by forests, plains, deserts and wetlands to the American people. And we aren&#39;t stopping there -- we are delivering this message directly to the deficit-reduction Super committee on Capitol Hill.</p>
<p>For months we have heard the mantra of &quot;job-killing environmental regulations&quot; from politicians looking to gut protections for clean air, clean water, and healthy wild lands. However, the very areas that are seen as ripe targets for the oil and gas industry (and their supporters in Congress) are the very ones that are the fuel for this $1 trillion engine.</p>
<p>Take the outdoor recreation industry for example. Even with the tough economy we&#39;ve had, this industry has not only stayed afloat but grown. This growth is due, in part, to the reliable network of wild landscapes that are open to public for hiking, camping, hunting, and fishing. These are lands that can be enjoyed by all, and provide jobs for guides, retailers, and for the communities nearby, which thrive off of lodging and restaurant sales.</p>
<p>Or look at the restoration economy: investments here have a more than 2-to-1 return, generating $2.1 million for every $1 million put in, and creating up to 29 jobs in the process. These are real numbers, real jobs for real people, and they are more than the jobs that can be created by the fossil fuel industry</p>
<p><img alt="" src="http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2011-10-19-Neilchart.jpg" style="width: 574px; height: 388px; " /></p>
<p>Reducing our dependence on fossil fuels also creates jobs and helps keep wild lands safe from development. Renewable energies like wind and solar are some of the fastest growing job sectors, and if done right, reduce the amount of fossil fuels we need to run America, and keep it beautiful. Another way to protect the lands that drive this economic engine is to use less energy overall -- upgrading and improving energy efficiency through weatherization and more efficient appliances. Already these improvements have accounted for more than 340,000 jobs, and could grow thousands more in the years to come.</p>
<p>There are American jobs that depend on America&#39;s lands -- jobs that keep America running, and protect our natural heritage for generations to come. These lands are the fuel for a powerful economic engine -- one that is defying the recession that is gripping the rest of the nation. We must continue to protect and preserve this heritage and the jobs they provide.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-content-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://wilderness.org/sites/default/files/styles/blog_full/public/jeremy-riding.jpg?itok=KuaxH7e0" width="500" height="263" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-video field-type-file field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"></div></div><div class="field field-name-media-description field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p>Jeremy Riding</p>
</div></div></div>Fri, 21 Oct 2011 04:00:00 +0000Foster Burgess1644 at http://wilderness.orghttp://wilderness.org/update/trillion-dollar-american-job-engine#commentsWild places worth saving: 27 sites Congress must protecthttp://wilderness.org/blog/wild-places-worth-saving-27-sites-congress-must-protect
<div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">May 25, 2011</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>Every September, Idaho resident Dana Menlove and her husband take to the river with their two young children, trading a few days in the classroom for the lessons of the Snake River&rsquo;s South Fork. At their favorite spots, the family fishes for native Yellowstone cutthroat, browns and rainbows and watches moose meander through their camp.</p>
<p>&ldquo;The South Fork of the Snake provides a unique opportunity for personal renewal through recreating in a wild place,&rdquo; said Menlove. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard to believe one can feel that &lsquo;wild&rsquo; so close to the highway.&rdquo;</p>
<p>The Menlove family is not alone in their love for the South Fork of the Snake &mdash; the area is recognized as a premier fishing destination and one of the most valuable ecosystems in the state. Because of these special qualities, The Wilderness Society has included the South Fork of the Snake on our <a href="/node/1761">list of special places</a> that are especially deserving of federal purchase with funding from the <a href="/node/1762">Land and Water Conservation Fund</a> (LWCF) this year.</p>
<p>LWCF was established in 1964 to provide federal funding to protect natural resources around the country. The funds, which come directly from revenues paid to the federal government from oil and gas leases, ensure that places like the Snake River remain healthy and thriving.</p>
<h2>More great places</h2>
<p>Seven LWCF priority projects are located east of the Mississippi, where open spaces can be tough to come by.</p>
<p>In Maine, funding for the High Peaks Conservation Project will add 17,000 acres to a network of varied, unbroken terrain that will help area species adapt to a changing climate.</p>
<p>&ldquo;The High Peaks region of western Maine is home to a diversity of essential ecological communities critical for species adaptation in the face of climate change,&rdquo; said Jeremy Sheaffer, The Wilderness Society&rsquo;s Maine Projects Director. &ldquo;In addition, these projects provide a unique opportunity to conserve nationally significant recreational opportunities and habitat.&rdquo;</p>
<p>The well-traveled track of the Appalachian Trail cuts through the High Peaks region before continuing south, where it passes near another priority LWCF project: Rocky Fork in the Southern Appalachian Mountains.</p>
<p>Rocky Fork in Tennessee. Courtesy USFS.Rocky Fork lies adjacent to more than 22,000 acres of wilderness and roadless areas, a haven for black bear, rare salamander and Appalachian brook trout. For the past two years, the Forest Service has named Rocky Fork its top acquisition priority.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Funding for the Rocky Fork tract in Tennessee will insure that this 10,000-acre parcel will remain in public ownership and provide key habitat and recreational opportunities for generations to come,&rdquo; said Brent Martin, The Wilderness Society&rsquo;s Southern Appalachian Program Director.</p>
<p>Although the West is known for abundant wild lands, many special places there need LWCF funding. In Washington state, a priority project would add more than 1,000 acres to forests that fragmented by transcontinental railroad construction in the late 19th century.</p>
<p>Family hiking in the North Cascades. Photo by Holly Werran, Courtesy REI.&quot;Washington state&#39;s North Cascades provide a stunning array of habitat for wildlife from lush, cool alpine fir forests to arid Ponderosa pine forests. Yet there&#39;s still a land ownership pattern reminiscent of a checkerboard with parcels of private land woven with Forest Service land,&quot; said Peter Dykstra, regional director of the Pacific Northwest office of The Wilderness Society.</p>
<p>&quot;LWCF funding allows the Forest Service to consolidate forest land, which will be healthier for the wildlife and fish that thrive on intact forested watersheds. It also benefits the many people who depend on the North Cascades for clean drinking water and enjoy hiking, fishing and skiing in the region.&quot;</p>
<p>Far from the North Cascades, to the South Fork of the Snake River and across the country, many Americans have fallen in love with the wild rivers, forests and mountains near their hometowns. Funding for these LWCF priority projects will conserve wildlife habitat and keep these treasured local getaways wild.</p>
<p>For Dana Menlove in Idaho, the solitude and beauty of family trips along the Snake River offer visible proof of the importance of the LWCF.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I&#39;m deeply grateful there&#39;s a mechanism like the Land and Water Conservation Fund to protect the South Fork of the Snake and other wild and ecologically diverse places,&rdquo; said Menlove. &ldquo;It&#39;s a blessing to me, my children and all of those who come after us.&rdquo;</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-video field-type-file field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"></div></div>Wed, 25 May 2011 04:00:00 +0000Firefly21775 at http://wilderness.orghttp://wilderness.org/blog/wild-places-worth-saving-27-sites-congress-must-protect#comments